Mixing wagon



April 16, 1963 P. E. 'HEIDER 3,085,789

MIXING WAGON Filed Dec. 24, 1959 INVENTOR. PAUL f. HE/DER United States Patent 3,085,789 MIXHNG WAGON Paul E. Heider, Carroll, Iowa Filed Dec. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 862,009 4 Claims. (Cl. 259-97) This invention is a wagon adapted for conveying, mixing and depositing materials as desired, usually in farm use. More specifically it consists of a wagon box having a conveyor in its bottom and above which is arranged a partition that supports a shutoff means shield. The shutoff means is selectively movable under and to the side of the shield whereby the compartments formed by the wagon box and the partition may be alternately and selectively opened to the conveyor and separated therefrom. An elevator mounted at one end of the wagon box communicates through a boot with the conveyor within the wagon box. A discharge chute pivotally associated with the elevator provides at least one means for discharging the material elevated into either of the two Wagon box compartments whereby conveying materials from one wagon box compartment into the other is possible.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a longitudinally divided mixing wagon having improved structure for controlling from which of the compartments materials are to be drawn.

A further object of this invention is to provide a mixing wagon structure in which the flow control requires little in the Way of mechanism to regulate its position.

It is the further object of this invention to provide a longitudinally divided mixing wagon that retains all flexibility inherent in a longitudinally divided mixing struc ture while providing extremely simple means for controlling the flow of materials to the conveying structure.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a longitudinally divided mixting structure wherein a single conveyor serves to convey materials from both of the compartments.

Still further objects of this invention are inherent in the specific structures described and claimed herein.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, this invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully dmcribed and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

The invention is illustrated by the drawings in which the same numerals refer to corresponding parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the invention with portions of the flow control and shield broken away to illustrate the conveying means and the flow control; broken lines illustrate hidden and adjusted parts;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1; broken lines illustrate hidden parts;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary partial vertical section, partial end elevation taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged partial horizontal section, partial plan view of the catch means, showing how it interacts with the flow handle control.

As seen in the drawings the wagon box is carried on the frame 11 supported by wheels 12. Wagon box 10 is divided longitudinally by mean of a vertical partition 14 which has secured to its lower portion a shield designated 15. In FIGURE 2 the wagon box is seen to have a sloping or V bottom 16 which directs materials placed therein to the conveyor 17 rotatably mounted at aassass Patented Apr. 16, 1963 the bottom of the wagon. Still in reference to FIGURE 2, there is seen, below shield 15 and above auger 17, a suitable flow control gate preferably an elongated sector element 18 pivotally supported by means of a shaft 19. While the shutoff or flow control sector element 18 must extend the full length of the wagon, the sup-i ports 20 extending from the collars 21 mounted on shaft 19 out to the sector 18 need not be continuous throughout the length and are preferably arranged only at inter vals along the shaft 19 and the sector 18. Collars 21 are suitably secured to the shaft 19 to rotate therewith so that pivotal movement applied to shaft 19 is transmitted to sector 18 to cause it to pivot with the shaft. Shaft 19 extends through appropriate bearings (not shown) in the ends of the wagon box and to the outside thereof so that a control lever such as the one designated 22 is available on the outside of one end of the wagon, here shown as the rear.

As seen in FIGURE 3, the wagon box V bottom 16 serves to limit the shutoff position of sector 18 when handle 22 is moved either to the right or to the left. While sector 18 must be of a width to reach from the edge of shield 15 to the sloping sides of 16 of the wagon box, it is also important that it be slightly wider than this space as indicated at 34, FIGURE 3. So constructed, sector 18 is always partly covered by shield 15 which prevents materials falling between the sector 18 and the edge of shield 15 to avoid jamming the mechanism. When the shutoff is in a neutral position as illustrated in FIGURE 2, however, it is necessary to have means for holding it in this position. Such structure is desirable to permit drawing materials from both compartments of the wagon at the same time. As shown in FIGURE 4 a spring latch 24 is suitably fixed as by the rivets '25 to the end wagon box temp. The spring has formed therein a recess 26 at its center. The end, designated 27, opposite to that secured by rivet 25 is free to move over the surface of the wagon box. The lever 22, therefore, may depress this spring latch 24 until it engages at notch 26 and will be held releasably therein. Since sector 18 is protected by shield 15 when in :a neutral or totally open position, even so slight a structure as spring 24 is adequate to hold the shutoff in this position.

Conveyor 17 extends to an appropriate opening in the end wall of the wagon body which communicates with a boot 28. Boot 28 is suitably connected to an elevator housing 29, within which is any suitable form of elevator such as the vertical auger 30. At the top of the elevator is a pivotable discharge spout 31 which, as shown by comparing the broken line with the solid line showings in that figure, may be swung in an arc of at least degrees and preferably 360 degrees on the vertical axis of anger 30. By swinging spout 31, therefore, the materials being elevated may be discharged either outside the wagon box or alternately into either the compartments within the wagon box as desired. Auger 17 is connected by any of several well-known (and therefore neither shown nor described) means to elevator 30 so that rotation of the conveyor 17 produces appropriate movement of elevator 30. A drive shaft 32 is provided to connect the conveyor structure and indirectly the elevator to a suitable source of power such as a tractor power takeoff.

It is apparent that many modifications and variations of this invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The specific embodiments described are given by way of example only and the invention is limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A materials mixing wagon comprising: a rectangular wagon box having a V-bottom, a conveyor mounted in the V-bottom of said wagon box, a vertical partition secured to said rectangular wagon box, said vertical partition having a bottom aligned With and spaced above said conveyor, a shield secured to said Wagon box at the bottom of said vertical partition, said shield extending on both sides of said vertical partition to free edges spaced from the sides of the V-bottom of said wagon box, whereby openings are provided between the free edges of said shield and the spaced sides of said wagon box bottom, a shaft pivoted in said wagon box between said conveyor and said shield, a sector shut-off gate wider than either of said openings secured to said shaft, means secured to said shaft for pivoting it to place said sector shutoff gate under said shield and at either side thereof to open both and close not more than one of said openings selectively.

2. The mixing wagon of claim 1 further characterized by an elevator secured to the exterior of said Wagon box, said conveyor and said elevator communicating with each other for passage of said materials to said elevator, and means on said elevator for directing said materials (lischarged therefrom on either side of said vertical partition.

3. The mixing wagon of claim 2 in which the gate portion of said sector shut-off gate is a curved member, collars are secured to said shaft, supports are secured to said collars and said curved member, a handle is secured to said shaft outside said wagon box, and a spring means is secured to said wagon box for holding said handle stationary when said curved member is under said shield.

4. The mixing wagon of claim 1 in which said means for pivoting said shaft comprises a handle secured to said shaft outside said wagon box, a spring means is secured to said wagon box and engaging and holding said handle when said sector shut-off gate is under said shield.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,470,836 Piper May 24, 1949 2,586,279 White Feb. 19, 1952 2,785,834 Stanley et a1. Mar. 19, 1957 2,813,704 MacKissic Nov. 19, 1957 

1. A MATERIALS MIXING WAGON COMPRISING: A RECTANGULAR WAGON BOX HAVING A V-BOTTOM, A CONVEYOR MOUNTED IN THE V-BOTTOM OF SAID WAGON BOX, A VERTICAL PARTITION SECURED TO SAID RECTANGULAR WAGON BOX, SAID VERTICAL PARTITION HAVING A BOTTOM ALIGNED WITH AND SPACED ABOVE SAID CONVEYOR, A SHIELD SECURED TO SAID WAGON BOX AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID VERTICAL PARTITION, SAID SHIELD EXTENDING ON BOTH SIDES OF SAID VERTICAL PARTITION TO FREE EDGES SPACED FROM THE SIDES OF THE V-BOTTOM OF SAID WAGON BOX, WHEREBY OPENINGS ARE PROVIDED BETWEEN THE FREE EDGES OF SAID SHIELD AND THE SPACED SIDES OF SAID WAGON BOX BOTTOM, A SHAFT PIVOTED IN SAID WAGON BOX BETWEEN SAID CONVEYOR AND SAID SHIELD, A SECTOR SHUT-OFF GATE WIDER THAN EITHER OF SAID OPENINGS SECURED TO SAID SHAFT, MEANS SECURED TO SAID SHAFT FOR PIVOTING IT TO PLACE SAID SECTOR SHUT-OFF GATE UNDER SAID SHIELD AND AT EITHER SIDE THEREOF TO OPEN BOTH AND CLOSE NOT MORE THAN ONE OF SAID OPENINGS SELECTIVELY. 